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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Sept 30, 2013 19:21:44 GMT 12
From the Los Angeles Times....Small plane crashes into hangar at Santa Monica AirportBy LAURA J. NELSON | 8:11PM - Sunday, September 29, 2013 A small plane veered off the runway at Santa Monica Airport on Sunday and struck a nearby hangar.
— Photo: Valerie Vanderwest.A SMALL PLANE landing at Santa Monica Airport on Sunday evening veered off the runway and struck a nearby hangar, authorities told The Los Angeles Times.
The plane, a twin-engine Cessna Citation, went off the right side of the runway after landing at 6:20 p.m., according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor.
The plane had departed from Hailey, Idaho, Gregor said.
Those at the airport at the time of the crash said they heard loud explosions. Staff at the airport's front desk said they saw firetrucks gathered on the tarmac.
The Santa Monica Police Department and the Santa Monica Fire Department responded to the scene, authorities said. Information about the number of people on board or their conditions was not immediately available.
Jack Bonner, a 15-year-old sophomore at Santa Monica High School, was hanging out with a friend at his home on 21st Street when he heard a loud boom "like a thunderclap."
"I was like, ‘Wow, what the heck is going on?’" Jack said. He turned on the TV and saw that a plane had crashed at the airport.
Bonner said he and his friend, Michael Hakim, ran outside to take pictures of smoke curling from the hangar.
The Cessna business jet is registered to Creative Real Estate Exchange LLC, a real-estate company based in Alabama and Georgia, according to the firm's website. The owner of the plane lives in Malibu, according to FAA records.
The plane had made eight flights since September 15th, according to flight tracking websites, including four between Hailey and Santa Monica.www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-plane-crash-santa-monica-airport-20130929,0,4797899.story
From the Los Angeles Times....Officials: Fire not contained after crash at Santa Monica AirportBy LAURA J. NELSON | 9:31PM - Sunday, September 29, 2013 Firefighters work to extinguish the fire after a twin-engine Cessna Citation went off the right side
of the runway and crashed after landing at Santa Monica Airport.
— Photo: Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times.A FIRE at the Santa Monica Airport that started when a small jet crashed into a hangar Sunday night has spread to two hangars nearby and is burning uncontained, authorities told The Los Angeles Times.
A two-engine Cessna that took off from Hailey, Idaho, landed at the airport around 6:20 p.m., veered off the right side of the runway and struck a storage hangar, authorities said. The jet and the hangar burst into flames during the crash, officials said, and the hangar partially collapsed on top of the jet.
Authorities have not been able to access the wreckage or see the plane’s tail number, sources told The Times; that has made it more difficult to access the plane’s records or know who was onboard.
The Fire Department dispatched six fire engines and four ambulances, but none took victims to the hospital, spokeswoman Bridgett Lewis said. She could not say whether the jet was inside the first hangar at the time it collapsed.
It is unknown how many people were aboard the plane at the time it crashed. Lewis declined to comment on injuries or deaths.
The flames burned at a higher temperature than most fires because jet fuel was involved, Lewis said. The flames then spread to two hangars nearby and caused minor damage.
Advocates for pollution controls near the airport said they were concerned that the fire could spread to homes nearby.
"This is a warning of the potential that this airport has to do harm to the closely surrounding, highly populated neighborhoods," said Martin Rubin, who directs Concerned Residents Against Airport Pollution.
The Cessna business jet is registered to Creative Real Estate Exchange LLC, a real-estate company based in Alabama and Georgia, according to the firm's website. The owner of the plane lives in Malibu, according to FAA records.
The plane had made eight flights since September 15th, according to flight tracking websites, including four between Hailey and Santa Monica.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash at the scene, officials said.www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-fire-plane-crash-santa-monica-airport-20130929,0,6649986.story
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Sept 30, 2013 19:45:53 GMT 12
From the Los Angeles Times....Fire extinguished at scene of Santa Monica Airport crashNo survivors likely after Santa Monica plane crashBy LAURA J. NELSON | 11:43PM - Sunday, September 29, 2013 A fireman hoses down a collapsed hangar after a Cessna Citation crashed into it at Santa Monica Airport.
— Photo: Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times.AUTHORITIES said late Sunday night that the fires that damaged three buildings at Santa Monica Airport after a business jet crashed there have been extinguished.
The crash occurred about 6:20 p.m. Monday, when a twin-engine Cessna Citation coming from Hailey, Idaho, veered off the right side of the runway and crashed into a nearby storage hangar. Both the structure and the jet burst into flames, officials said, and the hangar collapsed.
A Santa Monica Fire Department official at the scene told reporters that there could not have been any survivors. The jet holds up to eight people, according to Cessna and registration information.
The hangar fire burned at a higher temperature than most because jet fuel was involved, fire officials said. The flames then spread to two hangars nearby and caused minor damage.
The temperature and the collapsed hangar made it difficult to access the wreckage or read its tail number, sources told The Times, which made it difficult to identify those on board.
Local authorities have turned the investigation over to National Transportation Safety Board officials who arrived in Santa Monica on Sunday. The federal agency expects to start investigating the wreckage Monday morning.
The Santa Monica Fire Department dispatched six fire engines and four ambulances, but none took victims to hospitals, spokeswoman Bridgett Lewis said.
The Cessna business jet is registered to Creative Real Estate Exchange LLC, according to the firm's website. The owner of the plane lives in Malibu but is not named in FAA records.
The plane had made eight flights since September 15th, according to flight tracking websites, including four between Hailey and Santa Monica.www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-fire-extinguished-santa-monica-airport-crash-20130929,0,7727155.story
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Post by baronbeeza on Sept 30, 2013 20:02:47 GMT 12
Great reporting Laura.
What channel was the news on ?
How old is Jack's friend. Michael ?
Does Michael go to the same school ?
So much missed out with your reporting. Have you thought about a job with the Herald ?
It seems like it was a nasty crash and may have likely taken a number of aircraft out. No doubt we will be reading more of this in the coming days.
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Sept 30, 2013 21:51:14 GMT 12
From the Los Angeles Times....Official: Jet in Santa Monica Airport crash nearly hit homesBy MATT STEVENS and LAURA J. NELSON | 2:19AM - Monday, September 30, 2013 Firefighters investigate the scene of a plane crash inside a collapsed airplane hangar after a twin-engine Cessna Citation
went off the right side of the runway and crashed after landing at Santa Monica Airport Sunday.
— Photo: Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/September 29th, 2013.HOURS AFTER a business jet crashed into a hangar at Santa Monica Airport, the chair of an advisory commission renewed a call for city officials to reduce operations at the airport in the name of public safety.
The fiery crash occurred about 6:20 p.m. Monday, when a twin-engine Cessna Citation coming from Hailey, Idaho, veered off the right side of the runway and crashed into a nearby storage hangar. Both the structure and the jet burst into flames, officials said, and the hangar collapsed.
A Santa Monica Fire Department official at the scene told reporters that there could not have been any survivors. The jet holds up to eight people, according to Cessna and registration information, but authorities have not said how many people were on the plane.
Early Monday morning, David Goddard, Chair of the Santa Monica Airport Commission, estimated that the crash site was about 150 feet from residences. Had the plane not hit the hangar, it could have gone up an embankment and gotten over a wall before slamming into homes, he said.
“We’ve been attempting to get the city council to reduce operations at the airport,” Goddard told The Los Angeles Times. “The (assumed) fatalities were tragic, but I was certainly grateful that it happened on the tarmac … versus off the end of the runway.”
Goddard said that at around 7 p.m. he was driving to his home in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Santa Monica when he looked down Airport Avenue and it appeared as though “the fog had rolled in.”
“As we drove down we could smell the burning fuel,” he said.
Dozens of people were looking through a fence in the airport parking lot when he got there. Staring at the wreckage from about 300 feet away, he saw a piece of the plane’s fuselage lodged underneath the collapsed doors of a structure, whose steel was dented.
“Apparently the fire ball was pretty big because there was brush on the north side of the building that was far away that had burnt.” Goddard said.
Late Sunday night, authorities said that the fires had been extinguished after damaging three buildings. Neighborhood advocates had also been concerned that the fire could spread to homes nearby.
The hangar fire burned at a higher temperature than most because jet fuel was involved, fire officials said. The flames then spread to two hangars nearby and caused minor damage.
The temperature and the collapsed hangar made it difficult to access the wreckage or read its tail number, which made it difficult to identify those on board, sources told The Los Angeles Times.
Multiple media outlets reported early Monday that a crane would be necessary to lift the hangar off the plane in the morning, according to authorities at the scene.
Local authorities have turned the investigation over to National Transportation Safety Board officials who arrived in Santa Monica on Sunday. The federal agency expects to start investigating the wreckage Monday morning.
The Santa Monica Fire Department dispatched six fire engines and four ambulances, but none took victims to hospitals, spokeswoman Bridgett Lewis said.
The Cessna business jet is registered to Creative Real Estate Exchange LLC, according to the firm's website. The owner of the plane lives in Malibu but is not named in FAA records.
The plane had made eight flights since September 15th, according to flight tracking websites, including four between Hailey and Santa Monica.www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-santa-monica-airport-crash-homes-20130930,0,5421056.story
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Post by baronbeeza on Oct 1, 2013 13:45:04 GMT 12
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Post by harrysone on Oct 1, 2013 14:00:34 GMT 12
It would be a shame if they do lose it...Originally called Clover Field This is a very historic airfield too! the first Douglas transports originated there in the 1930's right up to the DC-7 in the 1950's.
Isn't it interesting how new residential pressure groups band together to try and shut down established airports, its a bit of a worldwide phenomena
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Post by baronbeeza on Oct 2, 2013 13:51:41 GMT 12
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Feb 14, 2014 20:55:14 GMT 12
From the Los Angeles Times....Federal government seeks to dismiss Santa Monica Airport lawsuitBy DAN WEIKEL | 6:20PM PST - Friday, January 10, 2014 Aircraft line the runway as a small plane lands at Santa Monica Airport, now the subject of a federal lawsuit that could determine its fate.
— Photo: Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/November 17th, 2011.IN THE battle to close Santa Monica Airport, the federal government on Friday requested that the city’s lawsuit to gain control of the historic facility be dismissed.
Santa Monica officials sued in October, challenging the constitutionality of a 1948 agreement that transferred ownership of the property and its 5,000-foot runway from the federal government back to the city after World War II on the condition it remain an airport.
Filed in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles, the city is seeking a declaration that it has clear title to the 227 acres that contain the oldest continuously operating airport in the county. Supporters of closing the facility hope a favorable decision will clear the way for a new park.
Government attorneys, however, argue that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the city filed it too late. They contend that federal law related to title disputes required Santa Monica to sue within 12 years of learning about the federal government’s interest in the airport.
According to the motion, the 1948 transfer agreement, which was signed by city officials, documents that interest — something that was demonstrated three more times in 1952, 1956 and 1984 when the government released three airport parcels from required aviation uses.
“Consequently, this case is jurisdictionally deficient because it was brought too late,” wrote attorneys for the Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Justice.
They further assert that the 1944 Surplus Property Act, which was used to return the airport to the city, is constitutional. Passed by Congress and later amended in 1947, it authorizes the conveyance of surplus federal property to meet the needs of the federal government, including the preservation of airports for national defense and the development of civilian aviation.
The motion notes that in 1962 and 1975, the Santa Monica city attorney and the California attorney general respectively reviewed the legality of the transfer agreement and concluded that the city could not close the airport unless the federal government approved.
The lawsuit, like the city's constant attempts to close the facility or restrict its operations, has attracted the attention of the local aviation community and national organizations such as the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and the National Business Aviation Association.
If the court overturns the 1948 transfer documents, it might open the door to efforts to close or re-purpose other airports around the country that were returned to local governments after World War II. According to the pilots association, there are at least 203 such airfields.
Over the years, attempts by Santa Monica to shut down the airport and curtail jet operations have not been successful in court. In the latest effort to ban jets with fast landing speeds, a federal appeals court ruled against the city in 2011, concluding that the prohibition illegally discriminated against aircraft types.www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-santa-monica-airport-20140110,0,4473769.story
From the Los Angeles Times....Federal judge throws out Santa Monica's lawsuit over airportBy DAN WEIKEL | 10:37PM PST - Thursday, February 13, 2014 A mechanic walks near planes parked at Santa Monica Airport. — Photo: Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/November 17th, 2011.THE effort to close Santa Monica Airport suffered a major setback Thursday when a federal judge threw out the city’s lawsuit that sought to wrest control of the facility from the federal government.
U.S. District Judge John F. Walters dismissed the claim that title to the oldest operating airport in Los Angeles County should be returned to the city because the action was brought too late under the statute of limitations.
Walters also threw out the allegations that the city was denied due process and that the federal government did not properly compensate the city for taking the property in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
The judge said the city failed to first seek compensation for the airport in the Court of Federal Claims.
City Attorney Marsha Moutrie said the judge’s 17-page ruling will be evaluated to determine Santa Monica’s options.
“Of course, we are disappointed. But there is likely much work to come,” she said.
The federal government obtained the airport from the city during World War II for defense purposes. It transferred the facility back to the city after the war on the condition that it remain an airport in perpetuity unless the government agreed to a change in use.
The city has contended that the airport must be closed in 2015 under various federal grant agreements and a 1984 court settlement with the government.
In anticipation of the airport’s closure, community groups and airport opponents have been planning to convert the grounds into a park and recreational facility.
The battle over the airport has been closely watched by local aviation enthusiasts and national organizations such as the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-santa-monica-airport-ruling-20140213,0,1902863.story
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Mar 27, 2014 14:28:53 GMT 12
From the Los Angeles Times....Santa Monica launches effort to shut down all or part of city airportBy DAN WEIKEL | 1:33PM PST - Wednesday, March 26, 2014 A plane passes over the Mar Vista home of Virginia Ernst making its approach to Santa Monica Airport on November 17th, 2011. Ernst, who says
fumes and pollutants from planes passing overhead, including the close proximity to the Santa Monica Airport, keeps her a prisoner in her own
home. Santa Monica Airport has long riled residents of the small coastal city and Los Angeles neighborhoods. The city of Santa Monica
contends that its agreement to use the land as an airport expires in 2015. The FAA says the airport must operate until at least 2023.
— Photo: Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times.THE Santa Monica City Council late Tuesday took a major step toward closing all or part of the city's airport after July 2015 — a controversial move that could result in years of additional court battles with the federal government.
On a 6-0 vote, the council decided to develop and evaluate a strategy to scale back flight operations, cut the 5,000-foot runway by 2,000 feet and reduce aviation related services, such as fuel sales and flight schools.
The decision also calls for the city to consider converting airport land to low-impact non-aviation uses. Meanwhile, it will continue a legal effort to gain full control of the facility, which is subject to federal agreements designed to preserve the 227-acre airport, including its 5,000-foot runway.
"We don't want to be told how to use our property," Councilman Bob Holbrook said. "I've sucked in the kerosene fumes.... I've seen the trees turned inside out by jet engines. It's not an environment we should live in. We need to fight for property that belongs to the city."
In addition, city officials will consider paying back a $250,000 federal airport improvement grant to free itself from a requirement that the historic facility remain an airport until 2023.
The council approved the reimbursement proposal although City Attorney Marsha Moutrie warned the Federal Aviation Administration has never allowed grant money to be repaid.
Council members said the package of ideas approved Tuesday night was not the final decision to close the airport or scale back operations.
FAA officials declined to comment on the decision. The agency, however, reiterated its longstanding position that under a 1948 agreement, the city is obligated to operate the property as an airport unless the government approves a change in use.
FAA officials say the agreement, which transferred the facility from the government back to the city after World War II, applies to the entire 5,000-foot runway.
City officials say the agreement might not apply to 2,000 feet of runway on the west end, raising the possibility it could be closed.
So far, the FAA has prevailed in every legal attempt by the city to ban certain jets and gain control of the facility. The latest victory occurred last month in federal court.
Moutrie cautioned council members additional litigation was possible if they decided to close the airport and that it could take years, not months, to resolve the legal issues. She added the outcomes would be uncertain.
During the hearing, the debate over the airport's future played out in full as more than 120 members of the public spoke in favor and against the effort to scale back or close the oldest operating airport in the county.
Opponents of the airport said the facility should be shut down because of noisy overflights, air pollution in surrounding neighborhoods and the potential for deadly crashes in nearby residential areas.
Some speakers were especially concerned about aircraft emissions containing lead and ultrafine particles of black carbon, which have been found at elevated levels around the airport.
Health studies show even low-level exposures to lead can reduce IQ in children, while the tiny soot particles can cause heart and lung problems.
One person likened the airport to Love Canal, the Niagara Falls neighborhood that was heavily contaminated with industrial pollutants in the 1970s. Another speaker who was concerned about safety said that being near the airport was like living in Tel Aviv and waiting for a bomb to go off.
"Every takeoff becomes terrorism," she said.
Instead of an airport, opponents told the council the property should be converted into a much needed park with playing fields, gardens, walkways, picnic areas and cultural amenities such as an amphitheater.
An environmental liability, they said, would become an environmental asset.
"We are legion, we are many and we will win," said John Fairweather of Community Against Santa Monica Airport Traffic, which supports the park proposal.
Supporters say the airport is an important part of the county's transportation system and contributes $250 million annually and 1,600 jobs to the local economy.
They noted the airport provides educational opportunities for children and a base for hundreds of medical-related flights a year.
The concerns about noise and pollution, speakers said, will eventually fade because of the increasing use of unleaded aviation gas and cleaner, quieter aircraft engines.
Some speakers chided airport critics who bought homes near the airport and then complained about noise and aircraft emissions. They also contended that much of the air pollution around the airport comes from nearby highways and major thoroughfares.
Bill Dunn, a high ranking official of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, and Ed Story of the California Pilots Association asserted if the airport were closed, it would clear the way for high-rise development rather than a park — a proposal they called the "Big Lie."
Others pointed out that without the airport, height limits on new construction in the area might be lifted, clearing the way for more dense development.
Just before the vote, Councilman Kevin McKeown described Dunn's and Story's criticism as a canard and alarmist. If his colleagues approved high-rise projects for the airport site, he said, they would never get re-elected.www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-airport-closure-plan-20140326,0,5195918,full.story
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